


Mission Impossible

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [16]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 14:25:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6332650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Last one because you probably hate me at this point+I fear ask limit's closing down on me. *worriedly looks around while typing* HS Secret Santa event & Caroline gets nerdish Klaus; since she's Caroline Forbes she wants to buy him the best present duH but that means having to get close to him. They start crushing on each other but when Klaus finds out she only first spoke to him because of the SS he feels hurt. Fluffy ending. (Blatantly stole from the Twilight fandom.) (Yes, I know it's Easter.) - tonkola</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mission Impossible

_Klaus_.

"Crap," Caroline muttered, looking at the tiny slip of paper in her hand.

Really, she should have planned better for this eventuality. She had the best of intentions when she set up their Secret Santa gift exchange for the whole class, but she figured she would luck out and get one of the girls. It was easy to give an awesome gift if you could bond over accessories.

The guys were a tougher challenge, but at least Matt and Stefan had hobbies she knew about. But Klaus, the loner Brit whose entire family just dropped into Mystic Falls a couple months earlier? He was so quiet, Caroline wasn't sure he had an actual personality.

But now, she had to find him a kickass Christmas gift. She would not fall into the Stefan Salvatore trap of buying whatever generic crap he picked up in a gas station. A Mystic Falls snowglobe, really?

Glancing up, Caroline sought out Klaus. He was staring at his own slip of paper, only to throw it into his bag and start doodling in his notebook instead.

She couldn't ask him what he wanted, that would betray the whole "secret" part about a Secret Santa. Asking his siblings felt like cheating, and Kol couldn't keep a secret to save his life. The only way to find out what he might like was probably to actually get to know him herself. It couldn't be too obvious, though, she would have to wait a few days for all the hubbub to die down around the secret picks.

No, she'd have to be sneaky.

* * *

It's Friday when she finds Klaus sitting at a picnic table by himself. Gripping her bookbag, she strode over and sat down next to him. "Are you ready for the bio test," she asked, nonchalantly pulling out her textbook. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to mess up the Krebs cycle."

He looked up, unconsciously pulling his notebook closer to him. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, it's not your fault," she pointed out jokingly. "But seriously, do you get this?"

Klaus shrugged, brow furrowed in confusion as he watched her get comfortable. "Well enough, I suppose," he finally answered. "But why are you asking me?"

Glancing around, Caroline shot him an incredulous look. "You're the only one in bio that I see," she explained, glad that no one really was in the vicinity. It leant credence to her fake excuse. "If you don't have the time-"

"No," Klaus said, reaching for her book before she could put it back in her bag. "I do, you've just never spoken to me before."

"I have, too," she corrected, because it was true. When he first moved to town, she took it upon herself to man the welcome wagon. Sure, she was dating Tyler at the time, and he didn't like her spending so much time with Klaus, but she still tried. The Brit was super quiet, though, so she figured he didn't really want her hanging around. "You're the one who hated my tour-giving skills."

Klaus chuckled lightly, surprising Caroline. He had a nice laugh. "I'll admit, I wasn't the most appreciative at the time," he said. "I didn't particularly enjoy moving here."

"I don't blame you," Caroline snorted. "There's nothing to do in Mystic Falls."

"Except study," Klaus mentioned, nodding at her textbook. "What are you struggling with?"

Smiling, Caroline pulled out her notebook as Klaus put his away. She jumped into her false difficulties with the material, completely oblivious to the intensity of Klaus's gaze on her.

* * *

Every morning turned into a mini study session at the picnic tables, and Caroline filed away what little observations she could to use in finding Klaus the perfect gift. He was super protective of his notebooks, but she knew he doodled in his spare time. He liked talking about his family, but didn't seem sentimental enough for a generic picture frame - not that she'd be that boring, anyway.

"-with me?"

Shaking her head, Caroline realized she had zoned out staring at Klaus's dimples and completely missed his question. "Sorry, what?"

Rubbing his ear, Klaus's cheeks had the slightest tinge of pink. "I wondered if you were doing anything after school, maybe wanted to hit the Grill?"

Caroline's face brightened naturally, biting her lip in a surprised smile. "Um, sure," she said. "Worried about the French final?"

"Not really," Klaus admitted, shyly meeting her gaze. "I just like talking to you."

"I like talking to you, too," she replied, just as shy. She hadn't been seeing anyone since Tyler broke up with her for Vicki Donovan, and she really enjoyed spending time with Klaus. "The Grill sounds fun."

They spent more and more time together, and Caroline had felt double the pressure to get him a good gift for Christmas. By the time their Secret Santa day arrived, though, she felt confident in what she chose. She mischievously wrapped the present in bright green paper sprinkled with glitter, only because she knew he'd hate to have the stuff all over his hands.

When she made it to homeroom, she quickly sat next to Klaus, a habit she happily developed over the weeks she had gotten to know him. "Morning, love," he greeted. She tried not to squirm at the pet name he had started using for her.

"Hi," she said, ignoring the weird looks coming from their classmates. They still weren't used to seeing Klaus be social. "Are you ready for Secret Santa?"

"Yes," he sighed, pulling out an envelope. "I know you put it together, but I really don't like things like this."

"Too bad," she chided, inwardly cheering that her gift would probably change his mind.

Mr. Saltzman walked in as the bell rang. "Okay, you have the rest of homeroom to do your gift exchange," he said after taking attendance. "Have fun."

Groaning, Klaus rolled his eyes toward Caroline. "Right," he mocked, standing to hand his envelope to Bonnie.

She thanked him for the gift certificate to the local salon, realizing he must have gotten the idea from Kol. Bonnie had told him all about how she desperately wanted a haircut, which his brother used to full effect.

Caroline happily received a blue scarf from Elena before throwing her present for Klaus to catch.

"Caroline," he whined as some glitter landed all over him. He processed the present sitting in his hands, though, and his mouth pinched. "You were my secret Santa?"

She smiled brightly until she realized he didn't look happy. "What's wrong, Klaus?"

Standing abruptly, Klaus strode to the door. He muttered an excuse about washing off the glitter to Mr. Saltzman, but Caroline just stared after him, hurt.

Caroline grabbed the present from his desk to rush after him, not bothering to think of a similar excuse. Rushing through the halls, she finally thought to look for him at their picnic table. "Klaus," she called out.

Klaus stiffened where he sat, but he didn't run away like she thought he might. "I don't need your pity, Caroline," he spat, not looking at her.

She tried not to let the absence of a pet name sting as she sat next to him. "What did I do?"

"You're my secret Santa," Klaus said, as though it explained everything.

Caroline just felt lost. "I know," she answered. "That's why I was so determined to get you a great gift."

"Right," Klaus pointed out, sad and angry. "As in, you never would have spoken to me, or gotten to know me, or hung out with me all this time except for this."

Softening, Caroline's shoulders shrunk in as she expelled a deep breath. "And you think it was all a lie," she realized.

"It was," Klaus said, finally looking at her. "Caroline, I thought- I thought you cared."

"I do," she implored, pushing the present toward him. "Please, open it."

Klaus's gaze hardened, but Caroline wasn't going to let it go without a fight. Sighing, he angrily tore the ridiculous paper off the shoebox inside. He ignored Caroline's stare as he opened the lid.

"These are my favorite charcoal pencils," he said, surprised since he had never mentioned them or used them in front of her. "How did-"

"You dropped one once," she explained softly. "You were getting a highlighter for me, and it fell out of your bag at the same time."

Unable to come up with an angry response, Klaus reached into the box to pull out a leather sketchbook. He remembered a conversation they had at the Grill, about how he was always doodling in his notebooks.

_"You like drawing," she asked, watching him ink out a caricature of Mr. Saltzman with his pen. "You're pretty good."_

_He shrugged, shyly closing his notebook. "Sometimes, I get these images in my head that I need to put down to paper," he said._

_"Kind of like wish fulfillment," she mused, pouting her lower lip. "Draw it, and it shall be."_

Klaus stroked the front cover, the leather embossed with that exact sentence. "You had this made for me?"

Nodding, Caroline reached across him to grab the pencils. "You seemed to like the idea of being God to your own little universe," she said, shrugging nonchalantly, as though she didn't perfectly understand what drawing did for him. "I wanted to get you a great gift, Klaus, but I also liked you. That's why I kept hanging out with you, and I loved getting to know you. I love getting to know you, and I do care, and I wanted-"

He leaned forward, cutting off her rant by kissing her. Caroline jumped at the contact until she melted into the kiss. Slowly, Klaus pulled back, taking a final taste of her lips before meeting her fuzzy gaze. "I've wanted to do that for a while," he whispered, brushing a curl out of her face. "So, when I thought-"

"I know," she whispered back, knowing she inadvertently hurt his feelings. "It wasn't a lie, Klaus. My feelings aren't a lie, just a...happy accident."

Klaus chuckled, enjoying the more intimate space between them. "Happy, indeed," he admitted, leaning back in for another kiss.

"All right, you two," Mr. Saltzman called. "Homeroom is over soon, and you need to get back to class."

Giggling, Caroline picked up the trash as Klaus carefully held his gifts. They followed behind their teacher, but Caroline felt Klaus slip his hand into hers. "Thank you, love," he whispered, kissing her cheek.

Caroline bit her lip, squeezing his hand. She definitely liked the petname too much.


End file.
